Stars and Chaos
by Relatively Unknown
Summary: Naruto finds a drinking buddy atop the monument, one with whom he can share his thoughts with, and it's not who you think. Ratings for a few choice words. Plz R/R!


A/N: Random thought I had that I wrote.   
  
Mæthis: That accounts for most of your writing, milady.  
  
CA: Shaddup, man, I ain't it da mood. I'm only half-friggin'-awake, okay?  
  
Mæthis: Fine, fine. Suit yourself.  
  
CA: Thank you, I will. As I was saying, this is a stupid and random thought I had but I  
figured what the hell, write up and if it sux it sux, and if dey like it, then dey like it.   
  
Mæthis: Straight trippin' boo?  
  
CA: *death glare*   
  
Mæthis: Point taken.  
  
CA: Here it is, review, flame, ignore it or whatever, it's all the same. (Yes da rhyme was  
intentional.)  
  
  
--------------  
  
  
Naruto sat up on top of the monument. He had a brown bag beside him that was, at the  
moment, his savior. It held all he really cared about in that moment, which consisted of  
two bottles of Bacardi Rum 151 and a large bottle of Jack Daniels No. 5. The only thing  
that he debated over was which to drink first.  
  
  
He finally decided on the rum.  
  
  
He had figured that tonight would be peaceful, just himself, his rum and Jack, and the  
stars. It was a clear night and the moon was half-full. All was quiet and Naruto liked it  
that way. The quiet. No one yelling or cursing, no one calling him dobe or demon or  
freak, and sure as hell no stupid teachers tellin' him what the fuck to do. It was nice night.  
He wished it would last forever.  
  
  
Fat chance.  
  
  
Not too long into solitude he heard the sound of someone trying to sneak up on him. He  
sniffed the air, but his stalker was downwind-- a smart move, but only one made if his  
stalker knew what he was and what he could do. That left out Sasuke and Sakura, not that  
she could sneak up on him anyway, or would want to.  
  
  
It was a stealthy and steady step, which would leave out Iruka. Don't get him wrong, he  
loved his former teacher like an older brother, but Iruka wasn't very sneaky. One reason  
why he never became a jounin. Which left Naruto with two people-- Kakashi and the  
Hokage. Now the Hokage would've just come out already, he was a no-nonsense type, so  
that left Kakashi. Naruto rolled his eyes and took a swig of rum.  
  
  
"Oi, bastard, what you want?" he called out, speaking as if he was talking to someone  
right beside him. There was no answer. He sniffed the air again, and this time caught the  
faintest whiff of a scent he knew all too well. He sighed. "I know it's you, it's just easier  
to come out."  
  
  
"You're either very well trained or you are using a hidden power..." the smooth yet gruff  
voice replied. The boy walked out and sat down beside Naruto.   
  
  
"Hidden power, how'd ya guess?" Naruto told him, throwing his arms out like he was  
going to hug the guy. He returned them to their normal positions. He pulled out his  
second bottle of rum and held it up. "Cheers?"  
  
  
The boy took the bottle and drank half of it swiftly in one gulp. Naruto wasn't sure if that  
was to impress him or not, and thought it had, he didn't say anything. They sat there, in  
silence, staring at the stars. Finally Naruto spoke.  
  
  
"Don't ya want to know how I knew it was you?"  
  
  
"You never said you knew who it was," the boy replied darkly. Naruto rolled his eyes for  
the second time that night.  
  
  
"Please, I know your scent anywhere!" he said. "Though, admittedly, I didn't know it was  
you at first. I just heard you and did a process of elimination from there. Honestly I  
thought you were that bastard Kakashi at first." He paused and took another swig of rum.  
"Ah, but then I got your scent. Then I knew it was you."  
  
  
"And you did not run away? Considering what I have done during my time here, and  
considering the result of our last encounter, I assumed you would run in terror," the boy  
said, taking a drink of his rum, a much smaller amount this time than before.  
  
  
"I _am_ terror," Naruto stated simply. "To them anyhow." He made a gesture towards the  
village below them. "Now, I know why I'm here, so why are you here?"  
  
  
"Well since you were honest before, I'll be honest with you now. I came up here to see  
what it was like... you know, a high place. They don't have this where I'm from."  
  
  
"No, I suppose they don't," Naruto replied. "But why were you stalking me?"  
  
  
"I didn't know you were here. When I saw you, I decided to stalk you. You seem like easy  
prey..."  
  
  
"But I'm not," Naruto finished. "I may be stupid, but I'm not helpless nor defenseless. I  
can hand you your ass on a silver platter before you can say 'Oh shit!'. Besides, I thought  
you knew what I was."  
  
  
"I do, but it was worth a try. I never pass the opportunity."  
  
  
"Apparently," Naruto replied sarcastically. "You really thought you could get the jump on  
me?"  
  
  
"Apparently. Now I answered your question, it's my turn. Why are you here?"  
  
  
"Uh-uh, freaky boy, we're even. I'm not about to give you the high ground, if you'll  
excuse the joke," Naruto told him. He finished off his rum and threw the bottle off the  
edge of the monument. He heard it shatter below. "Oops."  
  
  
The boy did the same and this time Naruto laughed. The boy didn't, but he smiled. He  
continued to laugh giddily for a few minutes before moving to a more comfortable  
position-- laying on his back to stare at the stars. The boy stayed sitting, but did lean back  
a bit.  
  
  
"I bet you got a great view of the stars," Naruto thought aloud.  
  
  
"Dunno. I never really look at them anymore."  
  
  
"How can you not look at the stars?" Naruto was incredulous. "I mean, c'mon, they are  
the only thing is this chaotic existence that make any sense."  
  
  
"And how did you come to that conclusion?"  
  
  
"Never mind."  
  
  
"No, really, I want to know," the boy insisted.  
  
  
"Really?"  
  
  
"Really, really."  
  
  
"Fine. They, meaning them," Naruto jerked his thumb in the direction of the village, "say  
that the chaos is up there. That there's no rhyme or reason to anything and that fate and  
destiny and all that only exists down here, in our world. I don't believe that. I believe that  
we're the chaos, we're the random beings and that the stars... well, the stars are like silent  
witnesses that occasionally share their wisdom with us, and guide us, and give us their  
light, their knowledge... ya know?"  
  
  
"No," the boy shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't. I think that we're all random beings and  
that there's no true destiny, other than the one handed to you."  
  
  
" 'You can see the stars and not see the light'," Naruto quoted.   
  
  
"Oh? Haven't you ever wished that you could choose your own destiny?"  
  
  
"Yes," was the hesitant answer. "But I think, in a way, maybe it's best that we can't.  
Well, not really."  
  
  
"Don't you ever wish that you weren't what you are? That you won't become what you  
know you will?"  
  
  
"Of course, who doesn't? But if we could choose our own destiny, then everyone would  
choose the great ones and ignore the little ones, and there can be no great ones without  
the little ones, and then there would be nothing. Everything is in balance, as it should be.  
Do I hate my life? Obviously, or else I wouldn't be up here drinking liquor with you. But  
would I change it? No, I wouldn't. There's a reason I was chosen, and there's a reason  
why I am going to fall. The stars have seen to that."  
  
  
"And me?"  
  
  
"There's a reason for all of your suffering as well. I know, it's a sorry excuse and I doubt  
you'll believe a word of what I'm saying, but it's true. There's a reason why you are who  
you are, and the mystery is not just up there," Naruto said, pointing to the stars, "but in  
here as well," he finished, pointing to his heart. " 'So often times it happens that we live  
our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key'."  
  
  
"My, my, my, aren't we the clever little fox?"  
  
  
"What can I say? I was born under a lucky star that felt the need to share his wisdom with  
me," Naruto said, sitting back up. "So how's the view?"  
  
  
"Beautiful," the boy replied, barely a whisper. He looked out over the darkened village,  
and a flutter in his dark heart made him look away. He liked it here, though he would  
never admit it, not even to the one next to him. It was away from everything, away from  
them, away from _him_... He looked back to Naruto. "So what makes you hit the bottle?  
Them?"  
  
  
"Nah, they were the reason once upon a time, but not anymore. It's just an escape now, a  
cheap and easy release from confines of my pain," Naruto didn't know exactly when he  
became a philosopher, but it was starting to make him sound intelligent. It was unnerving,  
even to him.  
  
  
"Let me guess, you don't believe a word you said either," the boy asked, raising an  
eyebrow.  
  
  
"Oh no, I do, or at least try to. But that doesn't mean I don't deserve a complete  
out-and-out, angst ridden depression occasionally, right?"  
  
  
"Right, keep telling yourself that," the boy said, trying hard not to smile.   
  
  
"Thanks, I will. Nice of you to give your permission, I feel so much better now! A great  
weight has been lifted off my shoulders!" Naruto flung his arms out and gave a sarcastic  
grin. He sighed and let his arms drop. "Well, I'm about ready to crash."  
  
  
"Here?"  
  
  
"Here," Naruto confirmed, curling up.  
  
  
"I don't think that would be a wise decision O Knowledgable One," the boy said, pointing  
to the eastern horizon. It was filling up with dark clouds fast.   
  
  
"Ah crap," Naruto groaned. "And there ain't no way I'm gonna make it down from here  
in one piece. Oh well, least I heal fast," he said, getting up. The boy stood as well.  
  
  
"I'll go with you. I have to get back to my camp anyhow before the others have a fit."  
They started down, Naruto had his bag in hand.  
  
  
"And that would just ruin your night, wouldn't it?" Naruto replied.   
  
  
"Yeah, and then I'd have to hurt them and I was saving that for later, so I'd rather not  
mess that up now," the boy said, and Naruto knew he wasn't being sarcastic, nor was he  
joking. He shrugged it off.  
  
  
"Bad thing about mountains," he warned, "you fall off them so easily."  
  
  
"Well I'm protected, so I don't have to worry. You on the other hand...."  
  
  
"Have this amazing ability to heal completely within a few hours and probably long  
before I wake up with a hangover the size of Gai and Sasuke's egos put together on glory  
day," Naruto finished, stumbling, but being caught from falling by his companion.  
"Thanks," he said.  
  
  
"No problem," was the reply.  
  
  
They made it down, both in one piece, and Naruto was accompanied back to his house. It  
had been a fun trip, both making jokes about each other with an underlining of  
seriousness. When Naruto reached his door he turned to face his escort.  
  
  
"I'd invite you in but I'm gonna just pass out on the couch and since you don't sleep  
you'll just be bored out of you friggin' mind so yeah and I'm rambling... Fuck..."  
  
  
"Not tonight," the meaning went over Naruto's head as the boy started to leave.  
  
  
"Hey, wait! See ya tomorrow up there?" The boy stopped and paused so long Naruto  
didn't think he was going answer.  
  
  
"If we survive the chaos," he finally said, before disappearing into the night. Naruto  
smiled and shook his head. He went inside just as the sky opened up and the rain poured  
down. That boy was really weird. He was a freaky boy, but so was Naruto, so he guessed  
it didn't matter.   
  
  
As he fell face-first onto the couch he thought about how the boy's scent suited him. It  
musky and tangy, a bittersweet odor that was mixed with the scent of a dangerous  
predator... and the scent that normally accompied Gaara of the Desert-- blood. Naruto  
gave a mental laugh before giving in to the dream world.  
  
  
  
CA: So how many were surprised it was Gaara?   
  
Mæthis: You really want that answered, milady?  
  
CA: No, not really. How about this: how far into it did ya figure out it was him?   
  
Mæthis: She likes to know how secretive and elusive she is, to put it bluntly.  
  
CA: There's a joke in there, but I'm not going after it.   
Mæthis: Wise.  
  
CA: Ass. R/R plz!!! Oh, and the quotes were from "Already Gone" by the Eagles. 


End file.
